Hindu families attacked and evicted from their homes by Muslim mob; ‘madrasa’ signboards put up to encroach upon their land

Case ID : e274869 | Location : Netrokona District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Sat, 7 June, 2025

Case ID : e274869

Netrokona District, Bangladesh

7 June, 2025

Hindu families attacked and evicted from their homes by Muslim mob; ‘madrasa’ signboards put up to encroach upon their land

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Attacked to induce migration from non-Hindu dominated area

Communal clash/attack

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Purbadhala Upazila of Netrokona district, Bangladesh, five Hindu Dalit families were rendered homeless following a series of targeted attacks by a Muslim mob led by an influential local group. According to the reports, the poor Hindu families have lived on this piece of land near Jalshuka Bazar in Bishkakuni Union for over 50 years. A Muslim man named Siraj Mia started claiming that the land was his private property and threatened to evict the Hindu families. According to a news report by ‘Somoy National’, to lay the foundation for their exodus, Muslim extremists put up signboards declaring the area as a property of ‘Janab Ali Markajun Nur Al Islamiya Madrasa' as an attempt to encroach upon the land. One of the victims, named Sunil Rabi Dasi, filed a written complaint with the District Commissioner. Enraged by this, Siraj Mia first attacked Sunil's house on June 6, 2025, and beat up his family members. On June 8, 2025. Siraj again attacked and vandalised the houses of 3 Hindu families. On June 10, Siraj Mia, along with the Muslim community, vandalised the remaining two houses of the Hindu families, beating the family members and throwing them out of their homes. As a result of this targeted attack, 22 members of five Hindu families are rendered homeless. Victims reported that cash and valuables were looted, and the women were physically assaulted. Local authorities, including the Upazila administration, police, and army personnel, visited the site to assess the situation. Purbadhala Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Nazneen Akhtar said that the land is not privately owned but is under Khas Khatian (government land). As of the date of writing this report, the local administration assured to take action against the culprits, but no arrests were made.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Attacked to induce migration from non-Hindu dominated area. There have been cases where the Hindus living in an area, often with a majority dwelling belonging to non-Hindus or those harbouring animosity towards the Hindu faith, the Hindu residents experience threats and violence. The violence is employed with the aim of making the Hindus leave the area and relocate, so the area could be turned into an exclusive ghetto for adherents of the non-Hindu faith or those who harbor animosity towards the Hindu faith. In several cases, the aim of exodus is explicit. However, in several cases, the demand for exodus of Hindu residents is not explicit, however, violence by non-Hindu residents leaves the Hindu residents no option but to leave the area, thereby, turning the area into an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances violence against the Hindu residents explicitly. For example, in the Hauz Qazi case of 2019, the Muslim residents claimed that mob violence against the Hindu residents had been triggered by a parking dispute. However, the violence did turn religious with a temple being desecrated and was directed specifically against the Hindu residents. The Hindu residents of the area were clear that the violence was religiously motivated and one of the motives was to affect an exodus of the Hindu residents. In such cases, even though the perpetrators have not explicitly expressed the aim of affecting exodus, the given circumstances and violence and precedent point to the intention of exodus and therefore would be categorized under this sub-category. Such crimes are religiously motivated and therefore are hate crimes. The second sub-category selected here is: - Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The third sub-category selected here is: - Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because it represents not just an act of violence, but a complete uprooting of five poor Hindu Dalit families who had lived on this land for over five decades. Led by a Muslim man named Siraj Mia, a Muslim mob carried out coordinated attacks against the Hindu families across three days. Their homes were broken, their belongings were stolen, their women were assaulted, and eventually, they were rendered homeless. These were not isolated or spontaneous attacks but calculated efforts to drive out Hindus from their land. The perpetrator's goal was not just personal gain but to forcibly displace Hindu families from their homes in an area that is Muslim-majority. The Hindu families were targeted explicitly for their religious identity. Furthermore, the act of placing a signboard declaring the land as belonging to a madrasa was not incidental. It was a symbolic and strategic act to provide a religious cover to the encroachment and forced eviction of Hindu families. This is on the lines of a larger pattern where religious symbolism is used to justify and shield bigotry. The message was clear that the land now belongs to Islam, and Hindus are not welcome. Such tactics not only rob the victims of their basic rights but also reflect a deeper religious animosity and malicious strategy designed to suppress and eliminate the Hindus from areas which are Muslim majority. This wasn’t just an eviction; it was a concerted effort to create a religiously exclusive space for Muslims by driving out Hindus using fear, violence, and humiliation. Since deep-seated hatred for Hindus was the driving force behind this attack, this case has rightly been documented as a religiously motivated hate crime in this tracker. This targeted attack must be understood as more than spontaneous mob violence. It is a reflection of the broader climate of anti-Hindu hatred that is prevalent in Bangladesh. This happens due to the doctrinal animosity that exists in Islam against Non-Muslims, where the lives of non-Muslims are considered inferior to those of Muslims. Thus, when the Hindu community filed a complaint, Siraj Mia responded with violence. This was not just an attack; it was also a statement that any dispute between Hindus and Muslims will be resolved not through legal or civil mechanisms, but through sheer violence against the whole Hindu community. It is important to mention here that this incident is not an isolated case but part of a larger pattern of hostility that Muslims in Bangladesh continue to harbour against Hindus. The systematic denigration of Hindu beliefs, coupled with attacks on temples, homes, and individuals across the country, highlights the deep-seated animosity that has only intensified in the wake of political turmoil following the violent ouster of Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024. Such an attack serves to normalise bigotry, further emboldening radical elements to target the Hindu community with impunity.